ἀκατάστατος

From the study of James 1:8

Range of meaning

'Unsettled, unstable, restless, disorderly'. It is formed from a- 'not' and the root of kathistēmi 'to set in place, establish'. It was used of fickle people, of unsettled political conditions and of anything in turmoil. The related noun akatastasia means 'disorder, tumult, upheaval' (Luke 21:9; 2 Corinthians 6:5; 12:20; James 3:16).

Against the English

'Unstable' (most versions) is accurate. 'Restless' or 'unsettled' brings out its link to the tossing sea of verse 6 better. 'Unstable in all they do' (NIV) and 'unstable in everything they do' (NLT) give the right sense of conduct, but they lose the picture of walking a road.

How it drifted

Modern English often uses 'unstable' for mental or emotional illness. James is describing moral and spiritual unsteadiness, not making a clinical judgement.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint Isaiah 54:11 calls afflicted Jerusalem tapeinē kai akatastatos, 'humbled and storm-tossed'. Polybius uses the word for shifting, unreliable affairs and people. James 3:8 calls the tongue an akatastaton kakon, 'a restless evil'. Hermas (Mandate 2.3) calls slander 'a restless demon'.

From the study of James 3:8

Range of meaning

Unsettled, unstable, restless, inconstant; by extension disorderly, causing turmoil. It is built from a root meaning 'to settle, set in order' with a negative prefix: literally 'un-settle-able'.

Against the English

'Restless' (BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV) can suggest to a modern reader nervous energy or sleeplessness. The Greek points to instability and disorder: the tongue never holds a steady course and unsettles everything around it. KJV 'unruly' translates a different Greek word (see textual notes), though it lands close in meaning.

How it drifted

In modern English 'restless' has narrowed to a mood or a fidgety, sleepless state. The older sense of 'never at rest, unstable' has faded.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint Isaiah 54:11 uses it of afflicted, storm-tossed Jerusalem. James 1:8 uses it of the double-minded man, 'unstable in all his ways', and the related noun akatastasia ('disorder, turmoil') appears in James 3:16: 'where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder.' The Shepherd of Hermas (Mandate 2.3, 2nd century) calls slander 'a restless demon' (akatastaton daimonion), very likely echoing this verse.